Lesser Adventures in the Interim
by Queen of the Castle
Summary: Rose/Ten II. It might not have been on quite the same level as running for their lives from furious aliens, exactly, but Rose figured that getting the Doctor to voluntarily take his shirt off in public still qualified as its own kind of adventure.


The Doctor and Rose had been stuck in the one time and place for just barely a month, and Rose had to admit that things were still far from up to standard (since the standard in question had long since been designated as 'fantastic', and she refused to settle for less). As soon as the reality of their situation had sunk in, that incredibly promising start between them on the beach had quickly devolved into what, if she was feeling charitable, she might call a holding pattern.

She wanted so much more than that. She was almost certain that he still did as well. If only other things wouldn't get in the way.

Even though she knew that it had to be about a thousand times worse for him than it was for her, Rose still really did feel as though she understood at least some of what the Doctor was going through. After all, she'd expected to be jetting all around the other universe by now, as long as the Dimension Cannon had actually been successful. If it had failed somehow, she supposed she might instead have been floating through any number of universes as nothing more than dispersed atoms, or perhaps been trapped in the never-ending Void, or any of a number of other equally unpleasant and potentially fatal consequences that she'd decided long ago were risks worth taking when the stakes were so high.

Whatever number of possibilities she'd considered, one thing she certainly hadn't figured on was that she'd end up right back where she'd started, right down to still somehow being trapped in a job that she'd only taken so that she could find a way to cross universes again.

Of course, she hadn't reckoned that the Doctor could possibly end up stuck right there with her, either. He was clearly determined not to stay that way for long. She knew he was throwing himself so wholly into growing the TARDIS for her sake almost as much as his own. However, what he didn't seem to understand was that the unintentional cold shoulder he kept giving her when he barely even paid attention to her for the span of the passing moments between his experiments stung her far more than the crushing weight of everyday life ever could. She thought that she wouldn't really care so much about being in this universe again, stuck or otherwise, if he was properly _there_ with her.

She'd been a brand new set of eyes through which he could see the universe afresh once before. There was no reason why she couldn't show him that this universe, here and now, didn't have to be so bad, even if they had to stay in one place for a little while. The TARDIS could wait, when it came right down to it.

Personally, Rose thought the new TARDIS was actually growing at an insane pace, all things considered. The coral had branched out like a sapling and already was nearly the same height as the small bookcase she'd stocked with material that Torchwood had allowed Rose to raid when she'd been trying to figure out a way to aim the Cannon at her original universe. The Doctor seemed to believe that it should have progressed far enough to reconfigure itself into another shape by now, and spent long snatches at a time just glaring at it as if it was holding off on doing that purely to annoy him.

Somehow Rose didn't think it was particularly likely to heed his Oncoming Storm expression.

After finding him the previous day staring somewhat uncomprehendingly at a physics book that he'd somehow accidentally (or so he claimed) set alight while trying to do Lord knew what, she'd swiftly put out the fire and given him a look that had _finally_ made him pay proper attention to her.

As much as she disliked the way the flat represented an unwanted permanence in their lives, she'd still really rather he didn't burn it down out of sheer irritation. Especially while they were inside it. He clearly needed some kind of distraction.

It had taken some doing, but Rose had eventually managed to get him to agree to leave the developing TARDIS coral for a few hours, though only after a lot of coaxing and what she thought might be a frankly dangerous promise to make him as much hot chocolate as he liked when they got back. ("Yes, with sugar _and_ marshmallows if you like," she'd sighed.)

"Back from _where_, though?" the Doctor whined slightly, looking at the budding TARDIS as if uncertain it would still be there when he returned. She thought he might be getting a bit paranoid, actually. It was definitely time to get out of the house.

"Dunno," she said, practically skipping into her room to grab some essentials now that he'd agreed. "I'm makin' it up as I go along."

The corner of the Doctor's lips twitched as if holding back a smile, and he stopped putting up any sort of fight. She knew then that she had him hooked.

They were barely even out the door before the press swarmed them. Rose rolled her eyes. It was bad enough trying to hunt down errant aliens with thirty-six members of the paparazzi dogging her footsteps. Couldn't they leave her alone when she was walking up her own street, at least?

The Doctor seemed fascinated, clearly having been so focused on his task inside that he'd completely missed how they'd lately been practically camped out on the doorstep looking for a glimpse of her, as if she was some kind of recluse who wasn't out and about away from the house _every single day_. Then again, Rose realised as she watched the Doctor receive even more attention than Rose herself did directly, perhaps they'd actually been looking for the eccentric Tyler heiress's new 'mystery man' after all.

Rose couldn't help but think that the Doctor's interest in all of that, which he'd never shown any sign of in the past, had to be something adopted from Donna. Still, as changes went, those odd little shadows of someone else that Rose had occasionally noticed were nowhere near as extreme as the regeneration had been, and she'd handled that just fine in the end.

He trailed just slightly behind her happily enough, anyway. She pointedly refused to drop her hand from his no matter what the jackals would make of it. She wasn't going to let anyone take away from the fact that they were finally _doing_ something together, even if Rose didn't quite know what that something was yet.

They had only a few hours to spare before Torchwood expected her back in the office (for the always so enticing prospect of paperwork, more paperwork, the vague possibility of a mystery item or two being placed on her desk, and, oh yes, more paperwork; what she wouldn't give for a nice invasion about now). She'd also rather go somewhere that they wouldn't attract people like the woman from The Sun who was continuing to basically attack them with questions even as they were clambering into the cab Rose had hailed. Their options for a getaway were therefore pretty severely limited.

She'd never admit it out loud for fear of making the Doctor feel even worse, but she really did miss the days when they could have strolled into the TARDIS and easily traversed across whole galaxies only to be back in the space of seconds (provided the Doctor's driving skills didn't muck it all up, which Rose truthfully wouldn't have counted on in a million years).

Until they could have that freedom back again, they'd have to settle for something a little simpler.

In the end, she directed the cab driver to the first random place that popped into her head. She figured that it was a sign that, among all of the things she'd thrown into her bag, she'd managed to pack to suit that choice.

The Doctor looked from the looping array of waterslides to Rose's mad grin of anticipation, which was an expression the Doctor hadn't seen on her face in a very long time.

It might not have been on quite the same level as running for their lives from furious aliens, exactly, but Rose figured that getting the Doctor to voluntarily take his shirt off in public still qualified as its own kind of adventure.

"C'mon, Doctor," she invited.

"Who says I want to go in there?" the Doctor asked almost playfully. "I quite like it right here."

Rose looked up at the waterslides, and his eyes followed hers.

"I know you," she said simply. "As if you could resist somethin' that's this pointless and fun. But you can't go in like that."

"Like what?"

Rose gestured at him. "All... suited up."

"Oi, what's wrong with this?" the Doctor asked, affronted, looking down at his blue pinstriped jacket. "I love this suit. Blue's a great colour. Anyway," the Doctor countered, "I don't see a single reason why I'd want to support this mad idea you 21st century humans have that people should get naked en masse right out in public just because there are some hydrogen and oxygen molecules involved. D'you know, I met the man who was indirectly responsible for that sort of thing initially starting to become popular, and he really wasn't the sort that you'd want to follow like a sheep. He was definitely a bit odd. Well, I say that. I mean completely mad, really, if I'm honest. Wore a _bowtie_, of all things. Does that sound like a fashion trendsetter to you?"

Rose raised her eyebrows pointedly at his rambling (stalling, she thought) and pulled her own shirt demonstratively over her head. When she'd pulled it free of her eyes, she saw that he was staring openly at the bikini top she'd revealed.

"Can't think of even _one_ reason for it?" she asked innocently.

The Doctor snapped his mouth shut and blushed. Of all the unexpected additions to this new part-human parcel, Rose found that one particularly adorable. Not that she'd ever wound his precious ego by saying so, of course. Well, not until he'd done something thick enough to earn a joke or two at his expense.

"Er, well, that's — that's different, isn't it?" the Doctor stammered. "It's all very well for you, with your..." He indicated vaguely at her bared skin. "But who wants to look at my pale, skinny stick of a body without any coverings? Ooh, that sounded like a bit of Donna there. That's still weird."

"I think there was a compliment there," Rose said. She ran her gaze over him, slowly and deliberately, and his lingering blush deepened. "And I guarantee you that at least one person wants to see you," she added.

Rose specifically didn't mention that the thousands of readers of the gossip mags would probably be interested as well. She'd spotted a camera or two aimed in their direction, even here. It was lucky that after several years she was used to it, and that she wasn't particularly shy herself.

Rose fished a pair of fluorescent plaid-patterned board shorts out of the bag and dangled the ridiculous looking pants in front of his face. "Go on. For once in your life, you might wanna at least try blendin' in a bit."

"Blending in? In _that_?" he gaped. "What planet do you think we're _on_?"

The Doctor — who had stoically faced all sorts of aliens that surely even he had to admit looked more than just a bit disgusting — looked completely horrified at the sight of the shorts. After being faced with that option, taking his jacket and shirt off clearly didn't seem quite as terrifying as it had earlier, as long as he got to hang onto his own pants.

Rose hid a small smirk as she chucked the shorts aside, hopefully never to be seen again. She knew those old clothes Pete had insisted on giving her when the Doctor had arrived with nothing but the clothes on his back would eventually have to come in handy somehow.

She stripped out of her own jeans. Clearly the bikini had come in pretty handy as well, she was quick to realise when she caught the Doctor's expression.

If that wasn't enough to distract him, the Doctor definitely forgot all about being preoccupied with his modesty when Rose pointed out the sign leading into the slide:

_One rider at a time. Please wait for the green light before sliding._

His eyes met hers and they both smiled mischievously. They'd never been particularly good at following orders. It might as well have been a challenge written in flashing neon. If this universe had actually _had_ neon, obviously.

The line was thankfully short. When it was Rose's turn, Rose sat on the edge of the slide and waited for the little light to go green. Just as she was pushing off, the Doctor fell in behind her and they whipped down the first leg of the slide together with their laughter echoing off the slide walls and mostly blocking out the noise of the teenage 'lifeguard' behind them shouting in annoyance.

Rose leaned back against the Doctor as they turned the corner sharply. It was by far the closest they'd been to each other since the beach in Norway, and it felt so good that she couldn't believe she'd let him be so distant from her for so long. Her hand fell onto his thigh to steady herself as they splashed around wildly. She clutched at him reflexively when they rocketed through a covered tunnel so dark she couldn't see the upcoming twists and turns. He distracted her by squeezing her hand and burying his face in the curve of her neck, the touch removing the cold sprinkles of water that had gathered there.

When Rose shivered, it had nothing to do with the temperature.

They'd certainly done more exciting things together before, but she could still feel the Doctor's single heart beating faster than it usually would, nearly matching the pace of her own.

Besides, with the heat of the Doctor's skin against her back contrasting against the cool water, and the Doctor's sopping and still suit-clad legs outlining her own, Rose couldn't think of many places she'd rather be just then, even given her run of the entire universe.

When they were dumped from the end of the slide into the pool, the Doctor practically collided with her. Rose spun around under the water and opened her eyes to find his face just inches away from hers. He gave her the kind of splitting grin she hadn't seen on that face for so long that even the thought of it made her chest hurt.

For only the second time since she'd crossed universes and found him again, Rose caught the Doctor's lips with hers. When he pulled her closer, she ended up nearly back in the Doctor's lap, though this time she was facing him. They floated together, the water suspending them almost like a frozen moment in time. Neither of them noticed for that moment the people kicking past them or the gushing of water slapping against water or anything other than each other. Of course, while kissing underwater was probably all very well with a respiratory bypass system, neither of them could actually lay claim to one of those (not anymore, at least). They had to break apart and surface as soon as Rose's lungs started burning slightly. They both laughed and gasped for air simultaneously.

Rose's hair hung in her eyes, thick streams of water falling from the ends. The Doctor reached out and pushed it aside so that he could look at her.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

"Good idea after all?" Rose asked.

"Brilliant," the Doctor agreed, and kissed her again, this time out in the open for everyone to see. Rose didn't give anyone else a second thought regardless.

Even though they were going to have to go back to their too-small flat that evening, and even though Rose had to spend what seemed like most of her waking hours at Torchwood for the moment, she really did figure that they didn't have to resign themselves to feeling trapped in this life unless they wanted to.

There was surely always something new and different to do, even if it wasn't quite like exploring new planets or running away from sentient plants (she'd had to do the latter just a week and a half before leaving this universe via the Cannon, actually, and was sort of crossing her fingers for a return visit).

They'd be back to that life among the stars soon enough, she was certain. The Doctor underestimated himself, and his own stubbornness, all the time.

Until then, Rose figured she could come up with all sorts of ways for the two of them to pass the time.

Especially if she could get the Doctor used to the idea of having his shirt off.

~FIN~


End file.
